Biometric Exit Improvement Act of 2013
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Border and Maritime Security.
Biometric Exit Improvement Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS): (1) within 180 days, to submit an implementation plan to establish a biometric exit data system in accordance with the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004; (2) within 2 years, to establish such a system at the 10 U.S. airports and the 10 U.S. seaports that support the highest volume of international air and sea travel, respectively; and (3) within 3 years, to submit a report that analyzes the effectiveness of such system at such airports and seaports.
Directs the Secretary: (1) within 18 months, to establish a 6-month pilot program to test such system on non-pedestrian outbound traffic at not fewer than three land ports of entry with significant cross-border traffic, including two on the southern border and one on the northern border; (2) after receiving a Government Accounting Office (GAO) review of such program, to submit a plan to implement such a system at all land ports of entry for non-pedestrian outbound traffic; (3) within 3 years, to expand the system to all land ports of entry to apply only to pedestrians; and (4) within 5 years, to expand the system to all air and sea ports of entry.
Requires the Secretary: (1) to ensure that the collection of biometric data causes the least possible disruption to the movement of passengers or cargo in air, sea, or land transportation; and (2) upon this Act's enactment, to terminate the proceeding entitled "Collection of Alien Biometric Data Upon Exit From the United States at Air and Sea Ports of Departure," issued on April 24, 2008.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 19, 2013. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 27, 2013: Referred to the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Candice Miller (R-MI) introduced it on September 19, 2013, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 19, 2013, 4739 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4731 days ago, on September 27, 2013.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers